Let Me Tell You a Story
by littleredkoalabear
Summary: The Doctor and Rose are undercover in a veterinary clinic and the Doctor is forced to work with his least favorite creatures in the universe.


Let Me Tell You A Story

Rose laughed to herself as she watched a puppy struggle to walk across the linoleum floor of the waiting room. As far as undercover gigs went, being a secretary beat the hell out of a lunch lady or a maid. And she rather liked animals, so working in a veterinary clinic was turning out to be quite enjoyable. Although she had already come across her share of crazy clients, it wasn't so different from anything she had experienced working in a shop. It didn't involve traversing across the universe but she did get to spend more time with her mum and there was a never ending supply of adorable animals to melt over, sick as they may be.

She would be having a grand old time here if it weren't for the Doctor. He had been in the worst of moods since having to go undercover as a veterinarian. Rose hadn't seen him in such a way since long before his regeneration. She knew he wasn't a cat person and that he deeply loathed any situation that required he wear anything but a suit, but honestly, he was acting like a git about everything and it was beginning to spoil Rose's good time. The bite he had received from the tabby he had been giving a vaccine to yesterday had barely broken the skin (really, a puppy had thrown up and ruined her favorite pair of shoes and he didn't hear _her_ complaining). Besides, there was something about the way those blue scrubs sat on the Doctor's hips that was completely wonderful and entirely distracting. He had caught her staring more than once already and hadn't teased her; a testament to the piss poor mood he was in.

"I hate cats," he huffed as he came up and leaned against the reception area's desk that Rose was stationed at. He was here for his hourly dose of Rose Tyler sympathy and she was quickly getting fed up with obliging him.

"So you've mentioned," she said plainly, not taking her eyes off her computer screen.

"Their fur gets everywhere on you and they're always managing to dig their claws into you even when you're just trying to save their meaningless little lives. Ungrateful, that is," he said, waving a knowing finger in Rose's direction. She still refused to look up at him. He sighed, the lack of attention adding to his bad mood and he turned away. He crossed his arms and leaned his back against the counter, surveying the room spread out in front of them with a scowl. There was a few seconds of silence from him and Rose believed for a moment that he was going to brood silently, but of course he continued on.

"And their eyes, Rose. Have you ever really looked into their eyes? They're all knowing and-and," he struggled for a moment, trying to find the words, "_creepy_, with their vertical pupils and tapetum lucidum. There's something wrong with them, Rose. Something evil."

"Cat's are evil? And didn't you say you have a tapetum - lucy somethin?" Rose asked, finally meeting the Doctor's gaze, but only because she knew her expression showed just how ridiculous she thought he was being.

He turned his front towards her again, spurred on now that he clearly had her full attention. Crossing his arms, he rested his elbows on top of the counter and leaned towards her. His expression darkened and his voice lowered; the Oncoming Storm had arrived. "I've seen a lot in 900 years. The rise and fall of civilizations, entire histories wiped out of existence, good men forced to do the unthinkable; all that destruction and misery stays with a person but if I learned one thing from it all, it's how to recognize evil when it's staring you in the face."

Rose listened to his dark monologue, her eyebrows moving increasingly closer to her hairline as he spoke. She had to bite her lips together in order to keep from laughing at him. "Doctor, they're cats. They can't clean their own litter boxes, how can they be evil?"

"That's just the thing, Rose! Look at any other domestic species. Humans took them from the wild and selected those with desirable traits. Horses were useful for transportation, oxen for manual labor, sheep for wool, goats for food, and dogs for hunting, guarding, and companionship. But cats showed up with a purpose of their own. Where there were humans, there were mice and therefore food. Sure, there was a bit of a mutualistic relationship because they assisted with the control of the rodent population, but the rest . . . placing themselves in your homes, receiving food when they're plenty capable of getting it themselves , and then using humans to clean up after them and receive medicine to rid themselves of disease. That goes far beyond the debt they are owed for eating a few mice. That is pure exploitation and you can't convince me there isn't something sinister about that," he finished with a huff, glancing around the waiting room. His eyes rested on each occupied pet carrier. "They're treacherous, Rose. Don't you see? There's something insidious at the very core of their actions."

"Doctor, they're just _cats_," she repeated, "Are we here to find the source of the Magneto radiation or save Earth from the invasion of cats?"

"Magn_etto_ radiation. And of course that's what we're doing here. You lot got yourself into this mess with the felines, so don't go looking to me to save you. It's enough of a favor that I'm putting up with them at all, let alone wearing _this._ Honestly, I looked less ridiculous in jimjams and a dressing gown."

He stood up, straightening the lapels of his white coat with a yank, and stormed off. Rose watched him go, concerned that he was soon going to wage a war against London's cat population, despite what he had said.

Rose didn't have much of a chance to see the Doctor for the rest of the day. The veterinary clinic they worked in doubled as an emergency clinic and in between typical vaccinations and spays and neuters, the Doctor had been swept away for numerous surgeries. It had started with a Great Dane suffering from its second case of bloat. Rose had learned the seriousness of the situation while consoling the crying owner who knew that her dog was most likely not going to make it. The Doctor, of course, had managed to not only flip the stomach, but undue all the damage caused by the previous incident. But that had just been the beginning.

Then there was the case of the Yorkie that had been on the receiving end of a playful bite gone wrong. Rose had the misfortune of seeing the poor creatures eyes nearly hanging out of his skull. It was now enjoying a sedated recovery, with both his eyelids sewn shut and was expecting to regain full use of his eyes within a matter of weeks.

She'd seen a lot of horrifying things during her travels with the Doctor, but she did not envy the veterinarians who had to face the gruesome injuries of these poor animals on a regular basis. She had nearly lost her lunch at the site blood seeping from the Yorkie's crushed skull, his eyes bloodshot and protruding unnaturally from their sockets. But the high pitched screams of pain from the tiny creature had been the absolute worst. It had definitely been enough to make Rose question her initial joy at landing this temporary job. How could anyone handle seeing such pain and suffering every single day?

Then there was the boa constrictor with the multiple melanomas, the King Charles Spaniel with the heart murmur, and the German Shepherd that had been hit by a car, which the Doctor was currently operating on now. It was well into the evening and Rose was already working overtime. She wouldn't leave without the Doctor, despite how utterly tired and worn down she felt from the events of the day, so she had taken over her coworkers late shift and let the other girl go home early. She suspected the Doctor was just as tired as she was and wondered if he had even had a chance to work on the _real_ reason they were there. Rose was already regretting not taking off when she had the chance, knowing that the Doctor would probably be up for the rest of the night working on finding the source of the radiation and ceasing it before every one in south London began feeling the effects. But with most of the staff gone for the night, she was left alone to man the desk until closing time in an hour.

Giving herself an internal slap to wake herself up and focus on her job, Rose tried in earnest to listen to the man in front of her.

"I've already been in three times this week," the man said with a thick Russian accent while holding his cat in his arms, "You see, she is very sick. I cannot wait for appointment tomorrow."

"Sir, I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, but the hospital is only open for emergency cases during these hours," Rose said in her most professional and neutral tone.

"But look at her! She is not herself!" he demanded, setting the cat down on the desk in front of Rose. The cat proceeded to shrink in on itself, nervous and stressed from the strange environment.

"Sir, I'm simply the secretary. I'm not allowed to give any medical advice or make any assumptions as to the state-"

"Her tail! Her tail is not up!"

Rose looked at the cat, then back up at the slightly frantic man. Confused as to the significance of his statement, Rose tried to ask him to clarify. "Her tail . . . ?"

"When she is happy, it is up. Like periscope," he explained, holding up his right arm, bending his wrist, and moving his arm back and forth. "You see? Like periscope. And her tail has been down for days, like you see now."

Rose resisted the urge to rub her eyes and sigh. Instead, she just looked at her computer screen again. "I can get you in at 9:30 tomorrow morning to see Dr. Farnsworth."

"This is veterinary hospital. Is there no veterinarian now?" he asked, gesturing around the large and rather empty waiting room.

"The only doctor in right now is Dr. Smith and he's in surgery with an emergency case and the hospital closes in an hour."

"Fine. I will take the opening tomorrow morning," he said before grabbing his cat and storming out the door.

Rose watched him go, pitying the poor animal that was being crushed to his chest. That kind of person was exactly why Rose had been doing her best to assign every feline patient to a doctor besides _the_ Doctor. For the most part, the cats were just fine, but they had a tendency to have owners a bit on the more . . . anal retentive side.

Hopefully, Rose would be allowed to sit through the next 50 minutes in peace and quiet while she waited for closing time to come around. But not five minutes later, Rose's dreams were dashed by the sound of the automatic door sliding open and footsteps approaching her.

It was a teenage girl, carrying a tiny kitten that barely took up the space in her hands. Rose inwardly cringed, already knowing she wasn't in a position to help this girl.

"I'm really sorry, I know it's late, but I just found this little one all on its own. It seems really cold and sick and I wasn't sure what to do with it," the girl began before she even approached the front desk. "The shelter's closed, else I would have gone there."

It wasn't the first time someone had come in with a stray, so Rose was well prepared with the necessary information. "I could set you up with an overnight boarding fee, but the fee is expensive. The shelter will be open again on Monday, you could just hang onto it for the weekend. We do sell milk formula and I can give you a pamphlet on the care of a bottle fed kitten-"

The girl shook her head. "My dad won't even let me bring it into the flat. He hates cats. And I don't have any money on me. Please, I just don't have anywhere else to take it but I couldn't possibly just leave it outside on a night like this."

Rose glanced around awkwardly. She sympathized with the girl, she really did. Rose loved cats and had always had one growing up. But the Doctor had made his feelings on them very clear. She also knew if she were in this girl's position, she could _never_ set the kitten down on a sidewalk and just walk away. But she had a job to do, with very strict rules, and she couldn't risk getting herself or the Doctor removed from the veterinary hospital when there was a dangerous alien radiation leak to be found.

"M'sorry, but there's nothing I can do for you. The hospital isn't allowed to take in strays," Rose said as kindly as she could.

The girl's face fell and she chewed her lip thoughtfully for a moment before perking up again and looking at Rose hopefully. "Do you think you could take it?"

"What?" Rose asked.

"Well, I just mean, you could have it. It's not like I can keep it anyway and you work in a veterinary clinic so you must love animals. And you wouldn't have to keep it forever, just long enough to take it to the shelter on Monday, like you said."

Rose's eyes fixated on the kitten. It was an orange tabby, just like the one she had growing up as a child. But this one's fur was caked in dirt and other unspeakable grime. It's one opened eye was dark blue, the other being forced shut from the mucus that had dried around it. Rose could easily see it shivering, obviously having suffered from exposure to the frigid evening air and possibly from a fever brought on by its apparent respiratory infection.

Oh, the Doctor was really going to hate this. Rose was never one to turn someone down when she could help them, whether they be human, animal, or alien.

"I could get in a lot of trouble for this," Rose cautioned, but she was already reaching over the desk and gently cradling the kitten in her hands.

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you!" the girl squealed, " And don't worry, I was never here. Some strange bloke walked in here, dropped the kitten off, and walked out before you could stop him."

"Yeah, alright," Rose agreed, "probably not the first time that's happened around here."

The girl left and Rose was left alone with the kitten. It trembled in her hands but simply from being cold. It's skin was far too cold to the touch, nothing like the warm furry bundles Rose was accustomed to when handling cats. Its fur was far too thin and wiry, it's skin too loose, and its gums too pale. Its nostrils were full of mucus like its eyes and she could hear the congestion in its chest whenever it took a breath. Sick, anemic, and malnourished. She was no veterinarian but she was a quick learner, and she knew a sick creature when she saw one. With no one around to interrupt her, Rose spent a few minutes looking up how to begin treatments for the kitten.

After a few minutes of reading online, Rose found it wasn't so different from treating a human with a cold. But she would still need milk formula, flee shampoo, and a dewormer. The TARDIS had a well supplied kitchen and infirmary, but she doubted it had much in the way of kitten food and medicines. She purchased what she needed and hoped that if anyone checked the inventory log they would be understanding of the situation she was in. At least more so than the Doctor would be.

She didn't normally carry a purse with her, but she thanked her stars she had one on her then. Emptying out the unnecessary items into the garbage, Rose lined the bottom with a blanket and tucked the kitten inside, sticking the can of milk formula next to it. Her jacket pockets were large enough to put the dewormer and small bottle of shampoo in. Now the only thing left to do was wait for the Doctor.

He eventually turned up well after the rest of the evening staff had left and had already changed back into his normal suit and trench coat.

"Ready to go?" he asked, already walking past her and out the doors.

"Don't you need to do any scanning?" she asked.

"Hmm?" He looked back at her, confused.

"You know, sneak around the place after hours, find secret rooms, stop the aliens last second from setting off a bomb that would blow London of the map . . ." she trailed off, noticing that he wasn't even slowing down on his march back to the TARDIS. She couldn't exactly jog to catch up to him with a sleeping kitten in her purse.

"Already done. Just need to get back to the TARDIS and run some tests," he replied simply.

"Hold on a sec, you already what?" she stopped this time, reaching forward and grabbing his arm above the elbow to force him to do the same.

He obliged her, turning around to face her, but only half way. His body was still in position to quickly march off again the second he could.

"I already did it, just now," he said with an innocent tone to his voice, obviously wondering why Rose had stopped them.

"Well I could have helped with that."

"Yeah, but it was a long day. Faster this way with just me."

Rose crossed her arms, offended and hurt. She was never overconfident in her abilities but since when had she ever slowed him down? "I stayed after hours so I could help you. Why'd you even have me take this job if you didn't need me?"

"I thought you liked this job?"

"That's not the point. And I did nothing but watch a bunch of hurt and sick animals today and console their crying owners. Why the hell would I enjoy eleven hours of _that_?"

She started walking again and passed him up, being mindful not to walk as angrily as she wanted to in case she bothered the kitten still sleeping in her purse. The last thing she needed now was for it to wake up and start crying _before_ she had it hidden away in her room in the TARDIS.

It took less than a minute to feel bad for yelling at the Doctor. Rose knew he was never completely comfortable whenever he had to play some character with the name John Smith, but she was used to him always putting on a brave front and a manic smile if the situation called for it. Then again, the last time he had been able to be a teacher and a little more _him._ He hadn't even required a change in clothing.

Of course he had wanted to get out of that building as soon as possible. Going all the way to the front desk to get her just to run some scans around the building with the sonic would have taking extra time and if anything of real importance had come up, she had no doubt that he would have fetched for her.

Besides, she had never once complained about having to do whatever was necessary to help him out, even when she had to be a lunch lady. Well, she hadn't _really _complained. Maybe just a little, but he had known she was happy to take the job if it meant helping him out. That was still the case and she didn't want him thinking otherwise.

He had been walking along side her in silence. It was typical of him to brood during the few times she had been truly upset with him, but whether it was out of guilt or annoyance was hard to tell.

"I'm sorry," Rose said just as the TARDIS came into view ahead of them.

"Ah, don't mention it," the Doctor replied with a wave of his right hand before pulling out his TARDIS key. Annoyed then. And possibly a tiny bit hurt.

"I am though," Rose continued as she followed him through the doorway and into the console room. "Hey," she reached out for his hand, stopping him for the second time that night. "I am sorry. I know you hate it there and just 'cause I had a bad day doesn't mean I should take it out on you."

His eyes met hers for a brief moment before trailing away to something unimportant behind her. "Rose, you don't feel unneeded do you?"

After nearly two years of traveling with him, sometimes she still read this alien completely wrong. But she had learned when to push him into talking about things and when to lighten the mood in order to give him an escape. Now was a time for the latter. "Are you joking? You've been driving me half mad this week always coming and bothering me at the desk." She reached a hand up and stroked the lapel of his long coat. "I know you'd be lost without me."

He mouth curved up into a small but genuine smile before his hand covered where hers rested over his left heart. "Truce?"

Rose smiled in return and was about to pull him in for a hug when she felt the wiggling from inside her purse. Her eyes widened in alarm and she backed away in the direction of her room. "I've got to go . . . shower," she finished lamely.

"Shower? I thought you might want to help me with the tests?" the Doctor asked, once again at a lost as to what his companion was going on about.

"No, honestly, I wouldn't even know what to do," she nearly squeaked when she felt the kitten squirm against her ribs and she put both hands on the straps of her purse to hold it still.

The Doctor's face fell. She always at least kept him company when he worked on things. Even if he spent the entirety of a day beneath the TARDIS console, Rose was always there to listen to his ramblings.

"Oh come on, you could at least rant to me about what was so bad about your day," he said, trying for a cheery tone again.

"I'll tell you over dinner later. But I'm sure you don't want smelly ol' me hanging around you while you're trying to work." Rose was nearly through the entrance to the corridor, all she had to do was turn around and walk away.

The Doctor looked like she had kicked his puppy. "You smell fine. I have to say, I'm a fan of the coconut shampoo that you clearly just used this morning. Why do you need to take another shower?"

Rose stopped. It seemed the kitten in her bag had also stilled for the moment. "You smell my hair?"

The Doctor's mouth hung open, his next words stuck in his throat. He looked every bit like a man who had revealed far too much and was trying desperately to backpedal. "Well . . . I . . . that is to say, Time Lord senses and all . . . and it's not as if I wasn't there when you bought . . . and-and-and . . . well, blimey, it's not like I go around sniffing your hair, I mean it's really quite fragrant, which is strange considering the planet that you bought it from has never had coconuts grown or exported-"

"Doctor, I'm covered in cat hair."

She had been expecting a "What?" in response. His face certainly matched the scrunched up expression that accompanied his usual exclamation of confusion. But instead he just stared at her, rendered speechless at her bizarre outburst.

"And it's itchy and I know how much you hate cats, so I wouldn't want to risk putting you through that, you know, the next time you decide to sniff me," Rose finished and took off down the corridor to her room, smirking a little at the image of the Oncoming Storm standing in the middle of the console room, reduced to gaping after his friend with the unmistakable redness of a blush spreading across his features.

"I do NOT sniff you!" she heard him shout out in defense, loud enough to cover the sound of the pathetic squeak of a meow from the kitten now poking its head out from the interior of her purse.

"Let's start with your eyes," Rose spoke softly as she placed the kitten down on her sink and ran a washcloth under the warm water. She then sat down on the rim of her bathtub, cradling the kitten in her lap and tenderly ran the moist cloth across its nose and eyelids. The dried mucus softened, breaking apart and revealing two fully wide, dark blue eyes that stared back at her. "There, that's better, eh? Quite the looker now, although . . ." She lifted the kitten and turned it around, taking a peak beneath its tail. "Can't really tell if you're a boy or a girl."

Rose then turned on the water in her sink until it was comfortably warm and lathered up the shampoo in her hands. The kitten appeared to be flee free but she did notice little tan and white things stuck to what little undercoat the kitten had. Taking a closer look at them, she noticed one of them squirming as it buried itself deeper into the fur. Rose yelped and nearly dropped the kitten into the sink when she realized they were lice. She managed to hold herself together long enough to place the kitten gently down into her empty bathtub before she ran back over to her sink and thrust her hands under the warm water. The kitten began crying and trying to climb up the smooth sides of the tub but Rose ignored it as she poured some of the shampoo into her palms and scrubbed at her hands. She twisted the tap until the water turned hot and watched as her hands turned red beneath the frothy suds covering her skin. It was when she started scrubbing higher up on her arms that she heard the Doctor laughing behind her.

She jumped and spun around, startled by the intrusion.

"Doctor!" she exclaimed then looked over at the kitten that was still trying to climb out of the bathtub, its meows echoing throughout the room.

The Doctor's gaze followed hers then returned to Rose's face. He leaned against her doorframe with an air of nonchalance, and his cocky grin revealed no surprise at the helpless creature at the other side of the room.

Rose's shoulders slumped. "How long have you known?"

His grin turned into a real smile. "I could hear it in your purse when you walked out of the console room. Besides, you were right. You did smell, just a little."

Rose returned his smile. "So you _do_ sniff me?"

The Doctor cleared his throat. "You can stop scrubbing your hands like that. Cats and humans get infested with different species of lice. You're safe."

"Oh," Rose said, looking down at her hands, disappointed but not entirely surprised that the Doctor changed the subject. She wiped her hands off and lifted the kitten out of the tub. It eagerly clung to her as she cradled it to her chest and returned to the sink. "You're not angry?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at the Doctor.

"That you brought a kitten onto the TARDIS?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. I thought you hated cats?" Even as she questioned the Doctor, Rose didn't hesitate to dip the kitten into the shallow warm water in the sink and begin rubbing the shampoo into its fur. It cried out in protest, trying in vain to climb further up her arm in order to escape.

"Weelllll . . . it's an improvement from Adam."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Am I ever going to live that down?"

"It's not my fault you have terrible taste in men."

"Suppose I used to. But the kitten's not the only improvement I've made since then."

He came and stood next to her as she bathed the kitten. "I am pretty impressive, aren't I? For instance, while you were attempting to conspire against me by bringing a cat onto _my _TARDIS without so much as asking, I managed to locate the source of the radiation _and_ stop the potential poisoning of everyone in south London. Did you know that Grandarians have quite the taste for Mikko fruits? So I fixed up their ship, which stopped the radiation leak, and pointed them in the direction of Mikkokrato IV. There's a small colony there that could benefit from the Grandarians technological advancements and in return, they get a fresh start and fresh fruit."

The Doctor smiled at Rose, expecting to be complimented on yet another job well done but Rose had been preoccupied with her own thoughts since the beginning of his speech.

"I wasn't _conspiring_ against you. It was either take the kitten or let it freeze to death. And if you're going to be like that, then you can just skip us ahead to Monday when the shelter opens and drop it off."

The Doctor frowned at her. "Why? Don't you want to keep it . . .er . . . her?" he paused to lift the damp ball of fur in his own hands and check for himself.

Rose gaped at the Doctor in surprise. "You would really do that? Whatever happened to 'cats are evil and manipulative'?"

"Aw, she's just a kitten, can't help what she is. Besides, she seems to be genuinely fond of you and I can certainly empathize with that."

Rose wrapped the kitten into one of her towels. "Maybe . . . maybe just for a little while. The TARDIS really isn't the best place for a cat."

"Why not!? The horse seems to like it just fine," then the Doctor seemed to realize what he was actually arguing so adamantly for and Rose could see him mentally backtracking. "But just so we're clear, no cats in the console room. Or the library. Or the kitchen . . . any of them. Or the swimming pool-"

"Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." Rose stood up to her full height and placed a tender kiss to his cheek. The Doctor smiled down at her, silenced but not speechless. Not all moments required words and he was content in this one with Rose. The way she smiled up at him, with that gleam in her eye that showed so much more than the affection of a friend, was enough to make the Doctor throw all caution to the wind when it came to his human companion. It really shouldn't come as a surprise to either of them that he wouldn't be able to deny her this one small token of his affection, no matter what kind of mischievous creature it would no doubt grow into.

That token of his affection had wiggled its way out of the towel and was using its needle like claws to climb up Rose shirt. A moment later its squeaky meow broke any semblance of peace and romance in the room.

"I'm _really_ going to regret this, aren't I?" the Doctor asked.

"Probably," Rose responded, shifting the kitten into one arm while she linked her other through the Doctor's. "And I hope you weren't serious about the kitchen, because the kitten formula has to be kept cold while in storage and then warmed up for feeding and it would just be _ssoooo_ inconvenient to have to make two trips back to my room every time I had to feed her, which the instructions say should be every four hours."

"Fine, fine, fine," the Doctor sighed as they walked out of Rose's room. "You know, I think I can feel all of my past regenerations laughing at me."

The Doctor stood in front of the doorway, his hand still held in the position to knock. There was no point in hesitating like this. He had spent days working up the strength necessary to come here, he couldn't just turn around and walk back into the TARDIS now.

Actually, he could. That was sounding like a marvelous plan the longer he stood out there. But then the kitten that had managed to triple in size since the first time it was snuck on board his ship meowed and the Doctor looked down at it in irritation.

"Just keep still, will you!" he snapped at the squirming tabby in his arms before he rapped three times on the door. "For your sake, you had better hope this works."

The door opened and a young girl appeared. At the age of five, her hair was a light auburn but her eyes were the same whiskey brown. She stared at the strange and impossibly tall man at her door before her eyes widened in manic glee at the sight of the kitten in the Doctor's arms.

"A kitty!" she squealed in delight.

"Hey there Rose Tyler, is your mum around?"

Rose suddenly seemed a little unsure of herself and backed away behind the door until just the top of her head and her two round eyes could be seen. But the Doctor could easily hear the shower running from the other room and quickly put two and two together.

He crouched down until he was near eye level with the little girl. "No, no, no, it's alright. Look," he said, holding up the kitten and setting it down inside the doorway. "She's all yours. See? You're safe as houses. I just came by to give her to you."

"Me?" the younger Rose asked, still hiding behind the door even though her eyes kept ticking back to the kitten currently hunched over in her doorway, looking unsure of itself.

"Oh yes. See, I know this girl. She had one just like this one when she was your age. And . . . well, she's gone now but you reminded me of her and I just know she would want you to have a little friend to grow up with, just like she did."

The little girl jumped out from behind the door and grabbed up the kitten into her arms. It seemed much less comfortable in the struggling arms of a toddler version of Rose who was unaccustomed to holding a cat, but it made no move to escape. Rose seemed to have decided she trusted the strange man standing just outside her doorway and smiled up at him, her face half obscured by the kitten's head and the blue bow that was tied around its neck.

"What's its name?" she asked.

The Doctor thought a moment. Rose had been calling it Pumpkin because of its orange fur but she had never mentioned what she had named any of her childhood pets. "It's a she. And I'll tell you what, since she's all yours now, how about you give her a new name, eh?"

Rose frowned down at the kitten in her arms, looking all the world like she was calculating out the universe's most difficult mathematical problem.

"Does she have any stories I could name her after?"

"Oh, lots and lots. And maybe someday, when you're all grown up and living very far away, you might even remember this one."

"Okay," little Rose nodded seriously, "I'll name her Story so I'll never ever forget."

She said goodbye then, off to interrupt Jackie's shower with the newest addition to their flat. The Doctor knew he had to leave soon before he came face to face with a very agitated and confused Tyler woman.

"Never say 'never ever'," the Doctor said to the closed door before making his way down the stairs and back inside the TARDIS.


End file.
